Chapter 4

Pressure
 Pressure is the basic of hydrostatic and
hydrodynamic.

 The study of fluids at rest is called hydrostatics.

 The study of fluid at motion is hydrodynamics.

1.1 Pressure

 Pressure is defined as the force exerted normally on its area.

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
P𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝐹
P=
𝐴

 Pressure is a scalar quantity.

 The force in the pressure formula must be normal ( 90 )
to the surface.
 Unit of pressure in SI unit is ‘pascal’(Pa).
 1 Pa = 1 Nm-2
Note
 Pointed nails penetrate the surfaces because for a
definite the surfaces, the exerted area is too small.
 Sharp knives can cut easily than blunt knives
because of smaller cutting area.
 Elephants have four large flat feet so they reduce the
pressure and less likely sink into the ground.

 Tractors used for ploughing has large tire areas so

that they do not sink in the muddy fields.
 Pressure is applied in many scientific fields and many
units are used although they have the same meaning.

In FPS system 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑝𝑠𝑖 ,

1 psi = 6891 Pa
In Meterology ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙 (ℎ𝑃𝑎),
1 hPa = 100 Pa
Standard
Atmospheric 1 𝑎𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ( 1 atm )
Pressure 1 atm = 1.013 × 105 Pa = 1.013 bar
= 760 millimetre mercury (760 mm Hg)
1 𝑏𝑎𝑟 = 1 × 105 𝑃𝑎
1 millibar mb = 100Pa
Example 1 Bicycle tire has 6 cm x 4 cm area touching the ground. The mass
of the bicycle is 22 kg and mass of the cyclist is 60 kg. Find the
minimum pressure needed in the tire.

Area = 2  6 cm  4 cm = 48  10-4 m2

Force = weight = m g= ( 22+60) 10 = 820 N

𝐹
Pressure = P =
𝐴
Example 2 Low pressure area in the bay of Bengal is 998 hectoPascal. Fishing
boat nearby has sail area 4 m2 and in the normal atmospheric
pressure, (a) Find the pressure difference (b) Find the force exerted
on the sail.

𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 1.013 × 105 𝑃𝑎 = 1013 ℎ𝑃𝑎

The pressure difference ∆𝑝 = 1013ℎ𝑃𝑎 − 998ℎ𝑃𝑎 = 15 ℎ𝑃𝑎

force exerted on the sail, 𝐹 = 𝑝𝐴 = 15ℎ𝑃𝑎 × 4

= 15 × 100 × 4
= 6000 𝑁
Example 3 The pressure in the motor car tire is 40 psi. What is the equivalent
MKS unit and atm unit?

1𝑝𝑠𝑖 = 6.9 × 103 𝑃𝑎,

40 𝑝𝑠𝑖 = 40 × 6.9 × 103 𝑃𝑎 = 2.76 × 105 𝑃𝑎

1 𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 1.013 × 105 𝑃𝑎

5
2.76 × 10
2.76 × 105 𝑃𝑎 = 5
= 2.724 𝑎𝑡𝑚
1.013 × 10
Example 4 A drawing pin is pressed into the notice board. The pointed pin area is
0.25 mm2 and the force exerted on the pin is 10 newton. Compute the
pressure.

𝐴 = 0.25 𝑚𝑚2 = 0.25 × 10−3 𝑚 2 = 0.25 × 10−6 𝑚2

F = 10 N

𝐹 10 7 𝑃𝑎
𝑝= = = 4 × 10
𝐴 0.25 × 10−6
Review Exercise
A man exerts pressure on the floor when standing , sitting
and lying. Explain why the pressure is different when the
person is in each of these positions.

The force action on the floor by the man, F = weight of the man
A1 = The contact area of the man when standing
A2 = The contact area of the man when sitting
A3 = The contact area of the man when lying
∴ 𝐴3 > 𝐴2 > 𝐴1
𝐹
Pressure 𝑝 = , 𝐹 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
𝐴

𝑝1 > 𝑝2 > 𝑝3
Ex:1 Normal atmospheric pressure 1 atm is equal to 1.013 ×
105 𝑃𝑎. How much force atmosphere acts on a man whose
total area is 2 m2

Patm =1 atm = 1.013 × 105 𝑃𝑎 A = 2 m2

𝐹
p=
𝐴

F =p A
Ex:2 A man has mass 55 kg. His foot has the dimensions of
24 𝑐𝑚 × 8 𝑐𝑚. Find the pressure on his feet.

m = 55 kg F = w= m g= 55 10 N

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝐴 = 2(24 𝑐𝑚 × 8 𝑐𝑚)

= 384𝑐𝑚2
= 384 × 10−4 𝑚2

𝐹 550 4 𝑃𝑎
𝑝= = = 1.432 × 10
𝐴 384 × 10−4
Ex:3 A four wheels truck tire has 20 𝑐𝑚 × 12 𝑐𝑚 area touching the
ground. The mass of the truck and passengers are
altogether 4400 kg. Find the minimum pressure needed in
the tire.

m = 4400 kg F = w = m g = 4400 10 = 44000 N

Total area touching the ground,

A = 4 20 𝑐𝑚 × 12 𝑐𝑚 = 960𝑐𝑚2 = 960 × 10−4 𝑚2

44000 5 𝑃𝑎
𝑝= = 4.583 × 10
960 × 10−4
 A brick of mass 2 kg has length 22 cm, breadth 11 cm and height 7
Ex:4 cm. Calculate the weight and three kinds of pressure when it lies
on a plane for three positions. In the missing ( c ) draw a sketch with
base 22 𝑐𝑚 × 7 𝑐𝑚.

22 cm
11 cm
7 cm

22 cm
11 cm 7 cm
𝐴 = 22𝑐𝑚 × 11𝑐𝑚
𝐴 = 7𝑐𝑚 × 11𝑐𝑚
𝐹 = 𝑤 = 𝑚𝑔 = 2 × 10 = 20 𝑁
𝐹
𝑝=
𝐴
Ex:4

𝐴 = 22𝑐𝑚 × 7𝑐𝑚
7 cm
22 cm
4.2 Density

 Density is the ratio of mass to volume of an

object. Density is the scalar quantity.

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝑚
𝜌=
𝑉
 𝐼𝑛 𝑆𝐼 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡, 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒 (𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 )

 𝐼𝑛 𝐶𝐺𝑆 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡, 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑖𝑐 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒

𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3 𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑚𝐿−1
1 litre = 1000 cm3
1 mililitre = 1 cm3
 Mass of an object can be measured by using a balance.

 volume can be measured by measuring cylinder.

 When studying three states of matter (solid, liquid and

gas), density is also an important factor.

 Mass of the object does not change, but the volume

depends on the temperature.

 If the volume changes, the density will change.

Review exercise

We say that the density of iron is 7.9 g cm-3. Write this in kg m-3.
Substances CGS MKS
𝒈 𝒄𝒎−𝟑 𝒌𝒈 𝒎−𝟑
helium 1.64 × 10−4 0.164
air 1.3 × 10−3 1.3
water 1 1000
ice 0.89 980
Sea water 1.029 1029
aluminum 2.7 2700
copper 8.9 8900
lead 11.4 11400
mercury 13.6 13600
gold 19.3 19300
uranium 19.05 19050
wood 0.75 750
Example 5 The helium flying balloon has the size of 6 m radius.
(a)Find the volume and mass of helium.
(b)Find the mass of air displaced by the balloon.

𝜌𝐻𝑒 = 0.164𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 , 𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.3𝑘𝑔𝑚−3

𝑚
𝜌= , 𝑚 = 𝜌𝑉
𝑉

4 3
𝑎 𝑉 = 𝜋𝑟 ,
3
𝑚𝐻𝑒 = 𝜌𝐻𝑒 𝑉
 V m
Example 6 A concrete slab 1.0 𝑚 × 0.5 𝑚 × 0.1 𝑚 has a mass of 120 kg.
What is the density of concrete?
=?
Review Exercise
An alloy is made by mixing 360 g of copper, of density 9 g cm-3, with 80
g of iron, of density 8 g cm-3. Find density of the alloy. Assuming the
volume of each metal used does not change during mixing.
Copper Iron
𝜌𝑐𝑢 = 9 𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3 𝜌𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛 = 8 𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3
𝑚𝑐𝑢 = 360 𝑔 𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛 = 80 𝑔
𝑚 360 𝑚 80
𝑉= = = 40𝑐𝑚3 𝑉= = = 10𝑐𝑚3
𝜌 9 𝜌 8
Total volume = 40 + 10 = 50 cm3

Total mass = 360 + 80 = 440 g

𝑚 440
Density of alloy = = = = 8.8 𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3
𝑉 50
4.3 RELATIVE DENSITY (OR) SPECIFIC GRAVITY

 Relative density is how much a substance is more dense

than water. Relative density is also known as specific
gravity.
𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
relative density =
𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 4℃

 As the density of water is one g cm-3 in CGS units, then

density of substance can be taken as the relative
density.
 The density of aluminum = 2.7 g cm-3

The density of water = 1g cm-3

𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑚
relative density of aluminum=
𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 4℃
2.7𝑔𝑐𝑚−3
= = 2.7
1𝑔𝑐𝑚−3
 Archimedes’ Principle
Part I - When an object is partially (or) totally
immersed in a liquid, the object displaces liquid
volume that is equal to the volume of the immersed portion.

Upward thrust
 Archimedes’ Principle

Part II - The loss in weight of the object is equal to the weight

of the liquid displaced. (or)
- The upward thrust acting on a body which is immersed
partially or totally in a liquid is equal to the weight of
the liquid displaced by the body.

upward thrust = uplift force = buoyancy = weight of liquid displaced

 By Archimedes Principle,
 weight of the body is more than the buoyancy (or) upward thrust , it
will sink in the liquid.
 Substances having relative density greater than one will sink in
water.
Archimedes and the Crown

 King of Syracuse was suspicious with his crown; King let Archimedes
to test whether the crown was made of pure gold.
 The crown had mass 3.75 kg or 3750 g.
 As the density of gold is 19.3 g/cm3, the crown must have volume
194 cm3.
 Archimedes finds the volume (by his principle number ONE) was
315 cm3.
 Then, answered to the King that the crown was not pure gold.
(Hint-The added metal is copper because it has similar color.)
The mass of gold in the crown is Mg and mass of copper be MCU,
Mg can be calculated by solving these simultaneous equations.

The mass of crown =3.75 kg or 3750 g

The density of gold = 19.3 g/cm3 𝑚 𝑚 3750
𝜌 = ,𝑉 = =
The crown must have volume 194 cm3 𝑉 𝜌 19.3

Archimedes finds the volume (by his principle number ONE) was
315 cm3
The density of copper = 8.9 g/cm3

𝑚 𝑚
𝜌 = ,𝑉 =
𝑉 𝜌

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = 315𝑐𝑚3

𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑐𝑢
+ = 315
19.3 8.9

𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑐𝑢 = 3750
Review Exercise The relative density of sulphur is 2. Find the volume of 1 kg of
sulphur. ( density of water = 1000 kg m-3 )

𝜌𝑠
relative density of sulphur = =2
𝜌𝑤

𝜌𝑠 = 2𝜌𝑤 = 2 × 1000 = 2000 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3

𝑚
𝜌=
𝑉
𝑚 1 𝑘𝑔 −3 𝑚3
𝑉= = = 0.5 × 10
𝜌 2000 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3
 When an object is placed in a liquid of a lower density, the
object sinks if it is placed in a liquid of a greater density, it
floats.
 Since the amount of submerged portion for a floating
body is inversely proportional to the specific gravity of
the liquid, the more submerged, the less the specific
gravity.
 HYDROMETER
 The hydrometer is an instrument for measuring the density or relative
density of liquids.
 It usually consists of a glass tube with a long
bulb at one end. The bulb is weighted with lead
shot so that the device floats vertically in the
liquid.
 The hydrometer sinks in the liquid until the
weight of the liquid displaced is equal to the
weight of the hydrometer. If the hydrometer
floats higher, it indicates that the liquid has a
higher density.
 The hydrometer is calibrated to measure the
density of the liquid in kg m-3.
 Special hydrometers are used to test the specific gravity of
solutions in storage batteries in order to determine the condition
of the battery.
 The relative density of the acid in a fully charged car battery is
1.25.
 Milk and wine can be tested to make sure they have diluted with
water.

 Hydrometer is a test tube like cylinder with overall density less

than one or less than water. So hydrometer needs to float in
liquid.
Ex. 5 One litre of milk ( density 1.2 g cm-3 ) is mixed with 0.5 litre of
water ( density 1 g cm-3 ). What is the density of the mixture? Find
the relative density of the mixture.
water
milk
𝜌𝑤 = 1 𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3
𝜌𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑘 = 1.2 𝑔 𝑐𝑚−3
𝑉 = 500𝑐𝑚3
𝑉 = 1000𝑐𝑚3
𝑚 = 𝜌 𝑉 = 1 × 500 = 500 𝑔
𝑚 = 𝜌 𝑉 = 1.2 × 1000 = 1200 𝑔

1200+500 1700
density of the mixture 𝜌 = = = 1.133 𝑔𝑐𝑚−3
1000+500 1500
Ex. 6 Mini-submarine has the total volume of 24 m3. Its mass is 2000 kg.
Can it carry a load of another 3000?

Total mass m = 2000 + 3000 = 5000 kg

total volume = 24 m3
𝑚 5000
Density of submarine with load = 𝜌 = = = 208.3 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3
𝑉 24

𝜌 208.3
Relative Density of submarine with load = = = 0.2083
𝜌𝑤 1000

Relative Density of submarine with load is less than one or

Density of submarine with load is less than that of water.
So, it can carry a load of another 3000.
 Density
Pressure
formula units

formula units 𝑚
𝜌= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 , 𝑔𝑐𝑚−3
𝑉
𝐹 𝑃𝑎, 𝑁𝑚−2 , 𝑚𝑚𝐻𝑔,
𝑝= Relative Density
𝐴 𝑎𝑡𝑚, 𝑏𝑎𝑟, ℎ𝑃𝑎, 𝑝𝑠𝑖

𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟